Hidden Text section in Biography, is it possible? [closed]

Question

What better person to build a complete biography for you than yourself?

That being established, I want to complete my biography with information and sources I don't want people to know until I'm dead; sensitive information and stuff that might shock the family once found out! LOL

Is there a way to add a section of text in the biography that would be hidden until I'm dead and then opened up once that happens? I would also, if possible, put a note in there telling whoever will inherit my profile to open up that section to the public once I'm gone.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Comments

<!-- text to hide goes here -->

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Oh! Almost sounds too easy! LOL Thanks, Melanie

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It is easy.  

Remember, though, if you use it on any profile where others can view the change log, it is visible to them there.  It's just invisible on the profile view -- which means your profile is safe enough as nobody can see your change log unless on your Trusted List.

(It's handy for making notes on space pages, too, where the text may not be ready for public view, but you want it recorded.)

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oh.. that's good to know as well about the space pages! Thank you! 

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Andréa, just one caution.  If this is really sensitive and shocking stuff that you don't want anyone to see, I would tell you not to put it on the web at all.  Whatever you post is going to be stored in a data base on a server somewhere, and somebody within the system would have access to all of that.  And depending on some simple coding in Wiki markup to protect your data from hackers, or others with non-privileged access to the data base, is just risky.  Personally, I wouldn't do it, and I would encourage you to think it through and perhaps come up with a Plan B if it's something you really care about.

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oh yes.... hmmm.... that is something to think about. Thank you for pointing that out to me, Dennis. I'm not good with all these coding and markups and what-have-you-tid-bits of technology. It's not something that comes naturally to me and I do admit I struggle, most of the time. So stuff like that doesn't even cross my mind as to me, hidden is hidden. But you are absolutely right.... darn technology!

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It really depends on what you mean by "sensitive information and stuff that might shock the family once found out".  I have personal secrets that I may never tell anyone, not even my kids.  I also have other secrets that will be told one day.  Just not today.

I have used the hide text code on a profile or two, because the information needs to be there - it just doesn't need to be public yet, where it can hurt the living.

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Yeah, that's pretty much stuff that will explain a bunch of decisions I've made in the last 15 years that, once I'm dead, will clarify my actions to the masses.

"Shocking" because there are a lot of sensitive folks out there that are flustered over the smallest things! LOL.. but once explained, it will all make sense.. just not right now!

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Dennis is right to caution.  It is really up to you to weigh the pros and cons.  

Hypothetical -- I have some family knowledge that is known only to me.  I think it is important enough to be recorded for my descendants to know, but I don't want to tell them now, because it does not affect them directly.  However, it might affect others who are living, so I don't want to publish it openly.  So, because it is my own profile, and nobody else can see what I have there, I use the hide text code to record it for later release.  This means that, should anything happen to me and I haven't had the opportunity to share what I know with my family, a future editor can remove the hide text code (or not, at their discretion, dependent on my instructions included with the hidden text (maybe it's to wait until x-relative has died, or something), so what I know is no longer private.

(Note - the above hypothetical would not work for me, because I have three people who are not me on my Trusted List.  And any of the secrets I may wish told in the future might include one or more of those people, so I keep said secrets in my head.)

Answer 1

You can use Wiki markup for hidden text, also used for hidden comments in the body of the text. See more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Hidden_text

Comments

So all I have to do is put <!-- all my nonesence and then -->? Sounds easy enough.. thank you!

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Just remember that anyone who had Edit access to your profile will be able to click on Edit and see it.

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Thanks, Eric. No one has access to my profile so I'll be safe. Thanks a bunch

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Anyone who can view the biography would be able to see the hidden text by viewing the page source. Do not use it for private information!

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Thank you, Jamie. I have, by now, reconsidered doing so.